DOWNE TWP. — While most of South Jersey escaped the worst of Sandy, especially when compared to New York City and the northern areas of New Jersey, Downe is among those localities that suffered the most.

In the weeks following Sandy’s arrival, those communities hit hardest by the storm have been working to clean up the mess, and to get on with the often monumental task of rebuilding.

Downe has also been among the most successful at bouncing back, though the process is still ongoing.

“Considering what we went through, we couldn’t be better,” said Mayor Robert Campbell.

“North Cove Road and South Cove Road have been completely rebuilt, though it is a temporary restoration, and we should have them paved by the end of next week.”

With the initial cleanup well under way, and access to Downe’s coastal areas opened up, Campbell and the township committee can begin the process of permanently rebuilding homes and infrastructure damaged by the storm.

But for some, the question is whether or not such communities should rebuild at all.

Downe is also in a fairly unique position; recently, Campbell presented an extensive and expensive redevelopment proposal.

The proposal calls for tens of millions of dollars in infrastructure investment, such as sewer and waste-water treatment facilities, with the bulk of it proposed for the township’s island communities of Gandy’s Beach, Fortescue and Money Island.

Those same island communities were the areas that were devastated by Sandy.

At a recent forum discussing the challenges coastal communities will face in dealing with climate change and the resulting sea-level rise, Matt Blake, of the American Littoral Society, questioned the wisdom of building extensive public works installations in areas that may be under water by the turn of the century.

The severity of Sandy also lends credence to warnings from climate scientists that storms are going to increase in frequency and intensity.

"What people need to realize about climate change is that it is happening now," said Blake.

"We could build fortress America around Money Island, but is that the best way to spend limited public money? These are the hard questions that need to be asked."

The bulk of the damage done by Sandy was a result of the massive storm surge which crushed bulkheads and inundated homes and businesses.

If sea levels were to rise, as climate scientists project, can any installation of public infrastructure or private property be considered permanent?

Asked before the storm if Sandy’s effects would be used as a gauge to determine the feasibility of the proposed project, Campbell responded in the affirmative.

Campbell also commented following the storm that, “we have to revisit how we have built in the past,” and said that he would solicit input from the state Department of Environmental Protection.

Blake sees the problem in much the same way.

"State polices need to catch up with the reality of climate change; policy and planning need to catch up with the science."

Among the changes Campbell thinks would help protect Downe’s coast is to make bulkheads uniform instead of built in sections that don’t always line up with each other, which Campbell believes may lead to them being compromised during a storm or tidal surge.

Campbell was also adamant about the need to rebuild.

“It is my position, and that of the residents of Downe, that we are resolved to rebuild every house that was lost. We want them all back.”

But the question remains: If such storms should occur more frequently, and if sea-levels should continue to rise at rates currently projected by scientists, is a public investment in infrastructure of this magnitude feasible?

Climate scientists have predicted that sea levels along the Atlantic coast could rise by as much as one and a half feet over the next 25 years, and by as much as three and a half feet over the next 100.

Blake echoed this lingering question.

"Can these types of public infrastructure withstand these types of storm surges?"

If these areas cannot be rebuilt, how can municipalities such as Downe Township expect to survive?

Before the storm, approximately 50 percent of Downe’s tax levy was drawn from the island communities of Fortescue, Gandy’s Beach and Money Island.

But Blake views Sandy as further evidence that climate science models are accurate in predicting the increasing frequency and intensity of such storms. And if sea levels rise at the pace projected, how can these expensive projects withstand what Mother Nature has in store?

"I think that in time some communities are going to go away, and some of the municipal boundary lines may have to be redrawn," said Blake. But he also believes that communities should work to hold on where and how they can.

And that is one area where both sides can agree, at least in part.

"No retreat," has become a popular slogan among residents of the bayshore, and if these small municipalities with their deep roots and rich local traditions are going to survive, maintaining a presence on the coast is an economic necessity.